Two videos on Facebook (FB) and YouTube have insinuated that Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile has ordered the arrest of Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel and BAYAN secretary-general Renato Reyes.
On Oct. 9, the videos appeared with the identical incorrect headline: “JUST IN PAKTAY NA PresMARCOS NABIGLA sa MATINDING UTOS ni ENRILE RENATO RAOUL WALA ng TAKAS KUL0NG (Oh, no. President [Ferdinand] Marcos shocked by the harsh order of Enrile; Renato, Raoul no escape, jailed)”.
The video narrator further claims that detention awaits Manuel after the legislator condemned the Marcos administration during an Oct. 4 indignation protest for the death of broadcaster and staunch government critic Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa.
There are no legitimate news reports about an arrest order and the video presented no evidence to support the claim either. The footage only featured an audio clip taken from an Oct. 7 monologue of a pro-Marcos blogger who was quoted as saying that under the cybercrime law, Enrile could order the prosecution of Manuel over his statement.
On Oct. 13, Manuel, through his personal FB account, denounced a media network for “spreading fake news” fueling claims that he is headed to jail.
The FB page of the Kabataan Party shared a story from VERA Files Fact Check debunking the allegation. (Read VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel NOT jailed)
Renato has debunked allegations of his arrest in an Oct. 6 message to VERA Files Fact Check. (Read VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Teddy Casiño, Renato Reyes NOT arrested by police)
The videos appeared two days after the Makabayan bloc, of which Kabataan Party-list is a member, filed a resolution urging the Marcos administration to immediately investigate the killing of Mabasa.
FB page Showbiz Fanatics (createdJuly 17 2022) and YouTube channel SHOWBIZ UPDATES (April 15, 2020), collectively garnered over 28,000 reactions, 5,600 comments, 2,300 shares and 905,000 views.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
